Over 15 vintage cars including Jaguars, Cadillacs, Mustangs and Mercedes’ recently embarked on a rally from the premises of apart-hotel Citadines OMR till Somerset Greenways in Chennai to promote refugee welfare. The event was hosted by Citadines’ ownership group, The Ascott, in association with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Historical Cars Association of India (HCAI).
Says Ashwin Vijaysekar, general manager, Citadines OMR Chennai, “We have always been focussing on doing different innovative events so that we can connect with the community around us as well as our clientele. Last year, we organised the Ascott Premier League, a futsal tournament, which had a UNHCR refugee team take part. This year, with the rally, we hope to bring awareness about refugees, particularly children who are the more vulnerable members of the community.”
Vintage automobiles at the rally
On the use of vintage cars for the purpose, Ashwin, who says that he wants to buy a classic Morris 8 for his own collection, remarks that it is important for youngsters to know about the sort of cars that were once there. “It is nice to go back into the past and look at how luxury has changed now. The HCAI takes a lot of pain to maintain these cars, to source its parts and get mechanics to keep them running. It costs a lot of money and unless you have a passion for it, you can’t do it,” he says.
The car rally, which was flagged off by the German Consul-General Karin Christina Maria Stoll and Nitirooge Phoneprasert, the Thai Consul-General, saw participation from the diplomatic and expat community. “The reach and exposure is higher when we associate with the diplomatic community for such events. It helps us and UNHCR to bring more awareness. Just imagine the hardships for refugees at this point of time when a pandemic brought out the vulnerabilities of the entire human race in the open,” Ashwin adds.
